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Tuesday, January 01, 2013

Top Afghan negotiator cautiously optimistic on peace prospects

Mohammad Masoom Stanekzai speaks during an interview in Kabul December 31, 2012. REUTERS/Mohammad Ismail
Mohammad Masoom Stanekzai speaks during an interview in Kabul December 31, 2012. REUTERS/Mohammad Ismail

KABUL (Reuters) - One of Afghanistan's top peace negotiators said he was cautiously optimistic about prospects for reconciliation with the Taliban and that all sides now realised a military solution to the war was not possible.

Mohammad Masoom Stanekzai also told Reuters that the Kabul government hoped to transform the Afghan Taliban into a political movement. He predicted the highly lethal Haqqani militant network would join the peace process if the Afghan Taliban started formal peace talks.

(Reporting by Michael Georgy and Hamid Shalizi; Editing by Nick Macfie)

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